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Publisher's Summary

Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.

Some readers and critics have suggested that Le Guin is "promoting" anarchism/communism; this is too simplistic, since the book is far too subtle and tentative to work as propaganda. Instead, she posits an attractive and idealistic society, contrasts it with a world with an appealing facade and an unattractive underclass, and shows how human nature tends to corrupt even the most well-meaning of civilizations. A book of ideas rather than of advocacy, "The Dispossessed" challenges readers to envision humankind's limitless possibilities.

What made the experience of listening to The Dispossessed the most enjoyable?

Great production of a great scientific fiction classic. The narrator went back and forth between characters with ease. He also highlighted the gravity of the writing, which is spectacular in a clear and simple manner.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Shevek has to be one of the most compelling characters I have every read. I didn't always like him but he served as a touchstone for the ideas and concepts in the book from economics, to the Sapir Whor hypothesis, moral and ethics and physics. A very compelling and thought provoking character.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scenes of Shevek as a young man were interesting, I couldn't help thinking of Catcher in the Rye at times. I also wondered how powerful this might have been to read this book as a younger man.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The scenes of Shevek with his family were very moving. As a fan of traditional or hard science fiction I typically don't get into more relationship driven stores, but this was an exception. These scenes were a stark contrast to the modern lifestyle of constant entertainment that many of us find ourselves dependent on for fun. It really made you re-evaluate how you decide to spend your time. It was something I did not expect of the novel and I found it fascinating, a real meditation on modern life.

Any additional comments?

I think it would be too easy to dismiss this story as "anti-Ayn Rand" or "socialist", its really more multi layered than that...If you can be open to a story that will make you rethink social, political, moral, ethical and existential ideas you would truly enjoy the novel. The book is not written in black and while tones, there are critiques and nuances to all the social and political structures that make it incredibly well written.

My only disappointment is that The Left Hand of Darkness is not on Audible, which makes more insight into LeGuins "Hannish Cycle" not complete.

le Guin's 'The Dispossessed' represents the high orbit of what SF can do. Science Fiction is best, most lasting, most literate, when it is using its conventional form(s) to explore not space but us. When the vehicle of SF is used to ask big questions that are easier bent with binary planets, with grand theories of time and space, etc., we are able to better understand both the limits and the horizons of our species.

The great SF writers (Asimov, Vonnegut, Heinlein, Dick, Bradbury, etc) have been able to explore political, economic, social, and cultural questions/possibilities using the future, time, and the wide-openness of space. Ursula K. Le Guin belongs firmly in the pantheon of great social SF writers. She will be read far into the future -- not because her writing reflects the future, but because it captures the now so perfectly.

One of the 2 best adult sci-fi titles Le Guin has given us; I was very happy to re-read it (after about 30 years) when it came to Audible finally. It's a meditation on human nature, disguised as commentary on the Cold War. At first it seems as if she's idealizing socialist society, but she does an excellent job critiquing it, with an almost Randian notion of egalitarianism suffocating human ingenuity. I finished it yesterday and I'm still chewing it over.

The reader is fine, a little slow and I used the audible app's 1.5x speed feature sometimes.

Ursula K. Le Guin???s classic 1974 novel The Dispossessed is brought wonderfully to audio courtesy a Harper Audio production of an excellent Don Leslie narration. Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards, it is also (and much less impressively, I might add!) my pick for the best new science fiction and fantasy audiobook at Audible.com in September 2010. The publisher???s summary is brief: ???Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.??? Here, there is simply too much to say, and so I will play a bit of the coward and not say much at all, other than: Le Guin???s Anarres is the definitive rendering of anarchism in fiction, and this is an unforgettable novel, and a masterful narration.

The Dispossessed is a well crafted slow moving novel. The overall thrust of the plot is about a theoretical physicist set to change the universe with his research. He is caught between ideological extremes in his home solar system. Coming from a revolutionary society, he is an outcast because his country feels the revolution is over. Moving to a planet with private ownership, he his used and manipulated for their own ends.

This novel explores anarchy: we see the true anarchist beliefs in the main character. However, we also see that when you take away formal power, informal power threatens your society. I really liked the political discussions in this novel. Niether society was really shown as right, or even wrong, technically.

This novel also deals with themes of having women subservient or as equals, and having classes of people (workers vs wealthy), and societies in which you do have property vs do not have property, distrust of foreigners, and how all these things affect your thinking. These humans are not from Earth. They have their own history, but all Humans and have just be contacted to other human groups: humans from Earth and humans from the Hain. This novel takes place before the Hainish Cycle novels, but it was my first novel of Ursula K. Le Guin and seemed to explain everything important for this story well.

If you like slow, thoughtful science fiction that deals with a bit of political and economic theory, this book is for you.

This novel was a sublime listen. The author fully imagines a futuristic anarchistic society and the man who lives it, loves it and sees it flaws. She explores the true cost and value of individual freedom. Much of the novel is the beautiful observations of the anarchistic society and some sometimes flat observations of a capitalist class-based society.

But much of the book is simply Shevek, the protagonist, sorting out his own existence. Miss Le Guin’s musings on marriage, friendship, love, parenting, professional work, sacrifice are poetic, honest, and universal.

All of this is of course in a sci-fi wrapper, but the story is never about the genre, but rather lets that limitless arena underscore her exploration of the Human Life.

The narrator is definitely up to the task, and what seems like a detached and naive tone at the beginning, builds into an intense empathic performance by the end. I could not recommend this novel more!

I’d also like to comment in response to a couple of other reviews. I have read Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand’s other works and loved them all. What I see that Miss Rand has in common with Miss Le Guin is the belief that individual freedom lies at the heart of all good, and thus, power over others, lies at the heart of all evil. While they see Freedom very differently, they both touched me deeply on that wavelength. But just to clarify, The Dispossessed is a true work of art concerning much more than a political statement, and even offering critique of its own politics. Atlas Shrugged, on the other hand, is a fully argued case for its author’s philosophy.

While originally published in 1976, the lesson and themes of this book are timeless. As usual, Le Guin uses a science fiction platform to explore complicated and important themes of politics, ethics and philosophy.

Anarchism, personal responsibility, usefulness and capitalism are explored with all their benefits and blemishes.